Brown-headed Gull

Common name for a species of gull, with the scientific name Larus brunnicephalus and known in Thai as nok naang nuan thammada, i.e. ‘Common Seagull’. This migratory bird breeds in the high plateaus of central Asia, yet winters on the coasts and large inland lakes of the Indian Subcontinent and in Southeast Asia. In Thailand, it is hence found only in non-breeding plumage and can be observed in large flocks at Bang Poo Nature Reserve in Samut Prakan, between October and February. This gull is similar to and often mixes with Black-headed Gulls (fig.), but is slightly larger, bulkier, thicker-billed and thicker-necked, and in flight broader and more rounded wings, with distinctive broadly black-tipped outer primaries, with white patches (fig.). See also THEMATIC STREET LIGHT and TRAVEL PICTURE, and WATCH VIDEO. 回